FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. (7News) — Running a single marathon in a lifetime is a noteworthy milestone for almost anyone; that alone was not enough to satisfy Fairfax County’s Frank Fumich.
Fumich, 56, recently returned from a whirlwind worldwide tour where he joined a group running seven marathons in seven days on all seven continents.
“I’m kind of running out of things to do so that’s been in the back of my mind as a thing I’d like to do when I start slowing down,” said Fumich with a smile.
He told 7News he’s been contemplating the so-called “7-7-7 run” for the past five years or so. Fumich is an endurance athlete and experienced ultra-marathon runner, IRONMAN triathlon competitor and mountain climber. So far, he’s run 140 marathons.
For this most recent trip, which began with a 26.2-mile run in Antarctica, the next seven days were a combination of physical strain and logistical coordination. Fumich estimated he spent as much as ninety hours aboard their plane.
“It was definitely super difficult,” he said. “Talk about jet lag. You wake up and you don’t even know what country you are in or continent.”
You might imagine the leadup to such a monumental event would include hundreds of hours of accumulated training over months of building strength and endurance.
“People that run a lot know that it’s ninety percent mental. I didn’t run for two months, from mid-August to mid-October,” said Fumich. “I trained for three-plus weeks and decided I was going to have to slog through it. I wasn’t trained as properly as I normally would be. So my legs, from my waist down everything was super sore.”
One memorable moment came before departing Antarctica when Fumich heard about a fellow runner on the plane who had to abandon the race course short of completion due to missing the cut-off time. Fumich convinced the race director to allow her to complete walking loops inside of the plane in order to finish the 26.2 miles.
The event began in Antarctica and then proceeded with marathons in Cape Town, South Africa, and Perth, Australia. After an eighteen-hour flight to Istanbul, Turkey, Fumich and the group did back-to-back marathons; one on the European side of the Bosphorus Strait and another on the Asian side.
The final two marathons were in Cartagena, Colombia, and Miami, Florida.
“The flight back home when I tried to get out of my seat I was like oh my gosh,” Fumich said while wincing at the recollection of the discomfort. But he says he recovered quickly. “I even went for a run a few days ago believe it or not.”
The most difficult race came in South America where conditions were so humid several of the runners were not able to finish.
“We went from Istanbul where it was like fifty degrees and cool rain to Cartagena and the feel like temperature was 109,” Fumich said. “It was like a hot cloak over top of you. That was the most difficult marathon experience I’ve ever had. “
Sitting idle for long isn’t Fumich’s thing. After enjoying Thanksgiving with his family, Fumich says he “accidentally” signed up to run a trail marathon in Western Marathon this weekend.
